Named after the three cities I live in, this blog will focus on Israeli, Palestinian, and Turkish politics and social issues. In addition, I will periodically cover other topics related to the Middle East.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Hatice Ezgi Sadet was a student at Turkey's Mimar
Sinan Fine Arts University-she was 20 years old

Yesterday,
a massacre took place in Suruç (pronounced su-ruch), a city in Turkey’s Southeastern Kurdish region. The Federation of Socialist Youth were on their way to deliver humanitarian aid to
the war stricken Kurdish Syrian border town of Kobane, when an ISIS suicide
bomber blew herself to pieces, taking 32 lives, and leaving many others injured.

Unfortunately,
for me, the killing of this group, which was made up of many university
students, did not come as a surprise. Over the last year, groups in Turkey
supporting the Kurdish struggle in Syria have been targeted both by radical
Islamic factions, some who openly identify with ISIS, and by the Turkish
government, which fears that a Kurdish Syrian stronghold could tilt the balance
of power in the region, giving the Kurds an independent Kurdish autonomous zone
not only in Iraq, but also in Syria, causing concern due to their close ties
to the outlawed PKK.

In
other words, there is no doubt that both ISIS and the Turkish government share
a great amount of disdain for the Syrian Kurds (and their sympathizers), who have been fighting day and
night to free Syria’s northern border from ISIS control. In fact, just last
month, as the ISIS controlled Syrian city of Tel Abayd fell to the Kurdish YPG
forces, pro-government newspapers close to Turkey’s president Erdogan, such as
Sabah, went so far as to state that the Kurds were even "more dangerous
than ISIS." Even worse, even if there have been recent crackdowns on ISIS in
Turkey, just last year Turkey’s
Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, avoided calling ISIS a terrorist
organization, keeping in line with others members high up in the government (not
to mention the claims that Ankara might have supplied arms to ISIS in January
2014).

Suleyman Aksu was a 27 year old English teacher

Since last year's breakout of fighting between Syrian Kurdish forces and
ISIS, the Turkish government has shown the least bit of sympathy towards the
Kurds who are fighting a long drawn out battle for their homes, and their
future. As I stated last year, I never believed it was Turkey’s role to fight
alongside the Kurds, however, it did not suffice in silence on the topic, but
also set out to demoralize them and their supporters in Turkey. Last October, Erdogan brushed off
Kurdish chances of holding on to Kobane, stating it “is
about to fall.” In the meantime, in Turkey, those protesting on behalf of
Kobane were regularly attacked by Turkish police, while peace activists, such
as Kader Ortakaya, protesting on the border were killed by the Turkish army (see
my blog: This One
is for Kobane).

Let
me be clear, I am not claiming that Turkey is complicit in the attack, but it
has failed not only to protect these activists, but also prepared the ground through a continued campaign of delegitimization, treating ones supporting
Kobane and the Kurdish struggle as if they were traitors. Not surprisingly, last
night in Istanbul, a political demonstration of multiple left parties, showing
solidarity with the victims, was violently dispersed with water cannons and
teargas.

Yunus Emre Sen was a student at Ankara University

Making
things worse, the current bomb attack comes just as many feared that if the AKP
did not reach enough votes to rule as a single party government, Turkey could
enter a stage of chaos, with a scenario of widespread violence. Just a day
before the elections, a bomb went off at the mostly Kurdish leftist party, the HDP,
which even induced more fears for the future. This recent attack will no doubt leave on all on edge about what the future could hold, while no coalition is in sight, with Turkey possibly seeing a new round of elections to solve this political impasse.

For
me personally, this attack hit too close to home as well. As a university
professor (and a parent), seeing so many young souls taken was tragic. The truth
is, any of these activists could have been my students, friends at bars with whom I
would talk about politics into the wee hours of the morning, or ones I march
with in demonstrations.

Activist Cebrail Gunebakan was killed; just last year his face
became famous as Turkish police held brutally held mouth
wide-open, as he was detained at pro-Kobane protest

It
is perhaps for this reason that with this attack, I opted not to turn the
television on, and avoided the gory photos. On my facebook I shared the photos
of these three activists killed (and added one more here to the right). Let us remember them this way, and remember
the good in their hearts for embarking on a humanitarian aid trip, which was
bringing diapers, baby formula, and goods to needy people in Syria.

Yes,
these were not terrorists, and it is too bad that they have been portrayed this
way so often in the pro-government press and by the Turkish government. Let us hope that the Turkish government
will understand that it needs to work diligently
to rid Turkey of ISIS. Sadly, the massacre in Suruç just shows that the Turkish authorities are a bit too late in realizing the real threat this group poses in Turkey.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

After eight years teaching in New York, I finally stayed for the month of June, rather than immediately going home to Istanbul and Tel Aviv once classes ended. The highlight of the month was without a doubt the New York City Pride. In the past, I have participated numerous times at the Pride parades in Istanbul, and once in Tel Aviv (see my recentblog on Istanbul Pride). However, New York is where it started, with the Stonewall Inn raid, which led to the first Pride parade in 1970.Luckily, a friend of mine asked me to join in with their group, since in New York to participate-and not to be stuck on the sidelines as a spectator-one needs to be affiliated with a group (see below). In other words, unfortunately, it is impossible just to jump in, which seriously limits the possibility of spontaneous fun!Much to my dismay, NY Pride is not the protest I imagined, with Corporate America taking a major role, with numerous banks and companies sporting some of the greatest floats and crowds, such as Goldman Sachs and Google. Uber seemed the most gimmicky, sending a message such as "we love gays, use us, and you might even get one of these sexy guys as your driver." Completely insincere.Whatever the case, I had a great day, and anyone who knows me knows that I love taking photos at protests and parades. So here are 10 of my favorite ones. Enjoy!

1. It was an honor to march with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the US's oldest non-profit organizations fighting for civil rights!

2. While it is easy forget the meaning of Pride, especially with the growing presence of corporate America, this couple was the best reminder how important Pride is!

3. This group of high school students did not need a float or a car, no loud music and dancing, just lots of energy!

4. And, then there were the ones that came all decked out!

5. And, then there were the tattoo lovers.....

6. Don't forget that some are Made in New York!

7. What about the Trojans? (OK, I suppose condoms do count as part of Corporate America, but I give them two thumbs up!)

8. For a second it seemed we were at the Rio Carnival.....

9. There were cheerleaders as well!

10. The finale: Stonewall! Where it all began! All who passed buty gave the legendary bar threw out a shout in solidarity!